No, they can't ... apparently. In CA, the proponents who put Prop 8 (no gay marriage) on the ballot were granted the right to defend Prop 8 in court because the State refused to do so. Under CA law, that is legal. They have standing because they initiated the proposition for the ballot. When the case got to SCOTUS, the court said those same proponents lacked standing to bring the case in the federal court system.
Hmm. So even if a state says something is your business, the feds can say it isn’t?
How can a state deliberately inflict damage that would have to be recognized as granting standing in the federal courts? All with the intention of forcing the feds to do their job.